Second Warning
by Titan5
Summary: John continues to get warnings from a few remaining whales in this tag to Echoes. SPOILERS for Echoes.


**Author's Note:** This is for Shelly, who wanted a tag for Echoes with a little more John whump (since he made such an amazing recovery during the episode). This picks up immediately after the end of the show.

**Spoilers: **Echoes, obviously.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own or have any rights to Stargate Atlantis. I just really love it!!

**THE SECOND WARNING**

By Titan5

John was almost to his quarters when the headache struck, the abrupt pain like someone twisting a knife into his temple. He staggered a step and caught himself against the wall, turning to lean his back against the firm surface. A loud, grating noise made him look up and he watched as two Ancient men turned the corner and walked down the corridor towards him, their voices high and squeaky. He immediately recognized it as being like what Rodney had run in the BioLab, the projections sent from the whales to warn them of the coronal ejection.

The two men talked excitedly, with one waving his hands dramatically as he seemed to explain something to the other. The pain in his head peaked as they passed by and he felt warm liquid run from his nose about the same time the dizziness hit. Slumping to the floor, he put his hand to his face, pulling it away to see blood on his fingers. He watched in morbid fascination as red droplets continued to spatter on his outstretched hand and down the front of his shirt.

"Colonel, what are you . . . oh my God!"

John looked up to see Rodney hurrying down the hall to kneel beside him. The pressure was building in his head and he felt like his eyes might pop out if it didn't stop. The feeling like his fingers were stuck in his ears had returned and it took a minute to realize Rodney was talking to him.

" . . . you listening to me at all? Colonel!" Rodney snapped his fingers in front of John's face, making him blink and wince at the increasing pain in his head.

"What?"

Rodney looked relieved. "I said, what happened?"

John blinked slowly, trying to remember. "I have a headache . . . and I got dizzy." He looked down at his blood filled hand, the front of his shirt now with a wet streak in the middle. "My nose is bleeding."

Rodney hit his radio. "Carson, I need a medical team in the hall outside Sheppard's quarters."

"_This is Beckett. Rodney, what's the problem?"_

"Sheppard is sitting here with a raging nose bleed and he's disoriented. At least I think he's disoriented, it's hard to tell with him."

"_On our way."_

"Tilt your head back," ordered Rodney.

John looked up at the scientist. "I thought you weren't supposed to do that any more." His eyes got suddenly wide as he focused on something over Rodney's shoulder. "Who are they?" He watched as the scene with the two men talking excitedly replayed.

Rodney looked around, glancing up one side of the hall and then down the other. "Who? I don't see anyone, although I'd like to see Carson coming around the corner about now. Where is he? I've never heard of anyone bleeding to death from a nosebleed, but if there's a first time, it will probably be you." Rodney wheeled back around in time to see John's eyes start to roll as he closed his lids and began sliding sideways down the wall.

"Oh, no you don't," he cried, grabbing John by the arm and pulling him back up. He held him in place, sitting against the wall. "Can't have you choking to death on your own blood. Carson would never let me live it down. Elizabeth either, for that matter." He was extremely relieved when he looked up to see Carson and a medical team headed their way.

oOo

John opened his eyes and stared at the blank ceiling for a moment, trying to remember where he was. Turning his head to his left, he saw Rodney sitting in a chair, studying the screen of his laptop.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked.

"Waiting on the colonel to wake up," replied Rodney. He suddenly sat straight up and shifted his gaze over the screen to stare at John. "Oh . . . you're awake."

"Yet you persist in calling _me_ Captain Obvious."

Rodney stood up, nearly dumping his computer in the floor. Catching it at the last minute, he fumbled for a second before getting a secure grip. "I should go get Carson. No, wait, maybe I shouldn't leave you, you know, in case your nose starts to bleed or you have another meltdown or something. But we should really get Carson in here." Rodney snapped his fingers and turned toward the doctor's office. "Carson! Sheppard's awake!" he yelled.

John winced at the loud volume, his headache beginning to escalate again. "Rodney," he drawled, frowning and rubbing his head.

Rodney turned back to Sheppard and observed his reaction. "Oh, uh, sorry about that."

Carson hurried out to join the two men, Elizabeth trailing just a few steps behind him. "What are you yelling about, Rodney?"

"The colonel's awake now."

Carson sighed and shook his head. "I'd appreciate you telling me a little more quietly next time. This _is_ an infirmary."

"Yeah, sorry about that. I was afraid to leave him alone."

"I wasn't going any where," John said, annoyance in his voice.

Carson walked over to his patient and took his pulse. "How are you feeling, colonel?"

John waited until Carson had finished before answering. "Little bit of a headache still. What happened?"

"Just what I was going to ask you, colonel. What do you remember?"

John winced as Carson got out his penlight and checked the pilot's pupils. "I talked to Rodney on the balcony and then headed for my quarters. I got a headache, real suddenly, kind of like what happened on the jumper. The next thing I knew I was dizzy and my nose was bleeding." He suddenly looked up at Rodney. "Did you see the guys in the hall?"

Rodney shook his head. "No, you said something about that when we were sitting in the corridor. There wasn't anyone there but us until Carson showed up."

John shook his head, but stopped when the motion made him dizzy. "No, there were two Ancient guys, talking as they walked. One of them seemed really excited about something, but I couldn't understand what they were saying. It was like that high pitched gibberish you played in the BioLab."

Rodney looked up at Carson. "That's like the hallucinations everyone was experiencing before, when the whales were trying to warn us."

Elizabeth frowned and crossed her arms. "Has anyone else reported a recurrence of the symptoms or sightings?"

Carson looked confused. "No, as a matter of fact, I've released almost everyone to their quarters in the last few hours while the colonel has been unconscious. I've received no new reports of anyone having problems."

"Where are the whales?" asked John, his brow furrowing as he turned to Rodney.

Rodney shrugged his shoulders. "Last I checked, most of them are gone. Give me a second." Rodney tapped his radio button. "Radek, what's the status on the whales?"

"_Rodney, I was just about to call you. There are four whales left and they are behaving very oddly. They have been for the last few hours."_

"What are they doing?" asked Rodney, beginning to pace in obvious exasperation.

"_They are circling Atlantis, but they are positioned in opposing pairs at exactly the same distance from the city. If you draw a line from each whale to the city, you get four ninety degree angles. It is very odd."_

"And they've been doing this for hours? Why didn't you call me?"

"_Shortly after they started, I heard the colonel had collapsed and been taken to the infirmary. I knew you would be worried, so I thought I'd watch for a while, try to figure out what they are doing."_

Rodney stopped pacing and straightened. "They started about the same time Sheppard collapsed?"

"_Yes, that is right."_

"Okay, keep watching them and let me know if anything changes." Rodney looked from face to face. "I don't think that was a coincidence."

John sighed, frowning as he watched his friends. "What isn't a coincidence?"

Elizabeth was the first to realize that John didn't have his radio and didn't hear the transmission. She quickly repeated Radek's description of what the whales were doing.

"But no one else is . . . " John suddenly quit talking and stared across the infirmary at the two men he'd seen earlier. This time they were in the chair room, with one man at a panel and the other sitting back in the chair. They were talking in that same, high pitched whining tone that made no sense. "Do any of you see that?" he asked, nodding at the apparition.

Three sets of eyes looked across the empty infirmary and then looked back at John, just in time to see the blood run from his nose.

The metallic taste of blood hit John about the same time as the sensation of liquid sliding down his upper lip. "Crap," he muttered, the vision lost in the sudden intensity of his headache. Carson had a rag in his face almost instantly. His ears were starting to buzz so that he could barely hear Rodney talking on the radio again.

"Colonel?" Carson was talking to him, but the dizziness was back and the infirmary began to swim in a haze. He was vaguely aware of hands on him and excited voices as the sights and sounds blurred together and faded away.

oOo

John came awake suddenly, as if something had awakened him. He blinked a few times, noting that the infirmary was dark and quiet. It must be late.

"John?" He turned toward the whisper, a woman with long brown hair and bright green eyes staring down at him. "Come, we must hurry."

John frowned as he looked her over, noting her clothing was like that of the Ancients he had seen. "Who are you?"

She looked around and then back down at John. "If you want me to help you, you must come now. I don't have much time. You don't have much time. Follow me."

John sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed, pausing as he rode out a wave of dizziness. He was looking down at his hand when he noticed he had an IV.

"John!" she hissed from the doorway.

Looking around and seeing no one, John pulled the tape off and slid the IV out of his hand. Steadying himself, he stood, got his bearings, and followed the woman out of the infirmary and down the hall. After a few steps, his legs began to feel more solid and they were able to move more quickly through the corridors. A few minutes later, they arrived in the chair room.

"Sit, so that you may see what I need to show you."

John felt a little odd as he obeyed her command. He trusted her and he had no idea why. He shouldn't. "Who are you and why are you doing this?"

The woman's fingers slid smoothly over the control panel next to the wall. "It is not important. That you protect Atlantis is important."

The chair leaned back and the area around it glowed. John felt the connection instantly and let himself fuse with Atlantis. He flowed through her and became part of her, meshing until, for a while, they were one. It was the only thing that was as good as flying. In a way, it was very much like flying.

The chair suddenly deactivated and sat up, jerking John into awareness. He needed Rodney and he needed him now. He stood too quickly, making him feel like a mule had kicked him in the head, and suddenly he was on his knees, watching blood puddle on the floor beneath him. Okay, not going to Rodney. He reached up to click his radio and was amazed to find it there, even though he didn't remember grabbing it.

"Rodney . . . it's John. I need your help."

After a pregnant pause, the radio finally came back on. _"Colonel, do you have any idea what time it is? It's nearly three in the morning and I was actually trying to sleep. Now, whatever it is can just wait til tomorrow morning."_

"No, Rodney, it can't. We have to do this now. Come to the chair room."

"_Look, I'm not sure what part of I'm sleeping you don't get, but you'd better . . . why are you calling me in the middle of the night? Aren't you unconscious in the infirmary?"_

"Well, obviously not."

"_Well, obviously you aren't unconscious now because you're annoying me, but aren't you in the infirmary? I know you were there earlier and Carson wouldn't just release you after that spectacular meltdown. You ran off, didn't you?"_

"Look, Rodney, you can tattle on me later. Right now we have to save Atlantis."

"_Save her from what?" _came the suspicious question.

"There's a secondary wave coming as a result of that coronal thing with the sun. It's a different kind of wave. It won't hurt the planet, but it can shut down all of Atlantis's systems. She'll be dead, including the ZPM, the shield, gate control, everything. It would take us years to restore even part of what will be destroyed, and the danger of fires from the short outs could end up killing the city so we can't fix her. You have to come down here _now_."

Another long pause. _"How do you know all this?"_

"I just sat in the chair and talked with Atlantis. Look, I can't explain everything now. If I did, you'd just call Beckett and have me hauled off and then Atlantis would be destroyed. Help me save the city and then you tell me I'm nuts. Please, Rodney. Trust me."

John knew using those words probably wasn't fair, but he was desperate. He knew Rodney would remember saying the same thing to him. Rodney would also remember that it had worked. Hopefully he wouldn't remember how fantastically bad that whole situation had worked out. But Rodney owed him one and he needed to collect.

"_I'll be there in a minute. And Sheppard, this better be good."_

John let his head drop down, bringing his hand up to try and stem the flow of blood from his nose. He twisted around to sit on the floor with his back against the chair pedestal, watching the front of his white scrubs slowly turn red as the blood dripped from between his fingers. His head throbbed and he felt jittery, as if electricity flowed through his veins instead of blood.

John jumped at the sound of someone crashing through the doorway, realizing that he must have drifted off for a few minutes.

"Okay, where's the fire? What is it that we have to do . . . Colonel?" Rodney was suddenly sitting on the floor beside John. "Are you bleeding _again_? Carson is going to have your head."

"I'm okay, Rodney." John began trying to get to his feet, but was obviously having a hard time. Rodney grabbed an arm and helped hoist him up so he could get into the chair.

"Atlantis showed me how to protect the city. We need to turn on the shield, then I need to make some enhancements so it will block out the harmful waves, but I'll need you to make some adjustments at the panel. I'll let you know what to do and when to do it."

Rodney looked at John, studying him like he was some new discovery. "You're sure you know what you're doing?"

"Yes, Rodney, I'm sure."

"How much time do we have left?"

John smiled and looked at him. "Bring it up on the screen and you tell me."

Rodney moved over to the panel as John leaned back in the chair. The scientist watched as John directed the needed information onto the screen in front of the panel. Rodney manipulated the controls until what he wanted popped up.

"Oh, crap. You're right. And we've got . . . less than thirty minutes to get set up."

"It's okay, we can do it. I'm going to start and the prompts should come up on the screen."

They worked together until just a few minutes before the wave of energy hit the city. John continued to work through the chair, monitoring Atlantis and watching for last minute adjustments. Rodney kept his eyes trained on the panel and the screen.

"It's here. I hope you knew what you were doing." Rodney watched anxiously, about half expecting the panel to start shorting out. A few minutes later, he breathed a sigh of relief. "It's gone. It's gone and everything still works! We did it." He turned to the chair and watched as John sat the chair up, a tired smile on his face, blood still slowly dripping.

"See, this was a good plan too," he said proudly, his eyes sliding closed as he slumped sideways in the chair.

Rodney grabbed his arm and kept him from sliding out of the chair completely as he called for a medical team.

oOo

John sighed when he realized he was waking up in the infirmary, yet again. Rubbing his face, he yawned and rolled his head to one side. With the headache down to a dull, distant ache, he was content to just lie and watch the activity around him. He was tired, but it was a good tired. Like at the end of the day, when you've worked hard and accomplished much.

The longer he lay there, the more he began to notice. He noticed the IV and gave a small smile. He'd expected that. Then he noticed the catheter. He hadn't expected that. His mouth was dry and his stomach had become an empty cavern, which was beginning to gnaw and growl. It was the growling that caught the attention of a nurse as she walked by, brightening when she glanced over and saw John was awake. A few minutes later, Carson emerged from his office and headed over to John.

"Colonel, it's about time you woke up. I was beginning to fret. And Rodney is about to worry me to death."

John nodded as the physician raised the head of the bed slightly and the nurse brought him a cup of ice chips. She slipped John a couple as Carson checked his blood pressure and listened to his heart. By the time they were done, Rodney was hurrying over to his bed, with Elizabeth, Ronon, and Teyla not far behind.

"I see sleeping beauty has awakened, but without the beauty part," said Rodney. "About time."

"Rodney," Carson said with his warning tone. Turning back to John, he smiled. "How do you feel, colonel?"

John cleared his throat, feeling like he hadn't used his voice in quite a while. He was beginning to wonder just how long he'd been out. "Not bad, tired. Maybe a little bit of a headache, but nothing like before. How long have I been out?"

"Three and a half days," replied Elizabeth, smiling as she relaxed for the first time in what looked like a while. "Carson said you were just sleeping, but I was getting a little worried. Rodney told us what happened."

"Yes, about that," said Rodney, crossing his arms smugly. "You said you'd tell me later how you knew what to do. It's later now and Atlantis is out of danger."

John could feel Atlantis humming and the tension from before was gone. "What about the whales?"

"Gone," answered Teyla. "They left shortly after Rodney called for the medical team."

Rodney snapped his fingers impatiently. "Get back to the original question. I want to know how you knew what to do."

"As would I," threw in Carson. "Along with why you just left the infirmary without telling me what was going on. I could have been there with medical assistance the whole time."

John took a deep breath and hoped they didn't lock him in the loony bin when he finished. "All right, I'm going to tell you what happened, but since everything worked out like I said, I don't want any padded cells, or extended sessions with Heightmeyer. I woke up to this woman dressed like an Ancient telling me I needed to follow her. I asked who she was, but she wouldn't answer. She just kept telling me I needed to go with her and do as she said if I wanted to save Atlantis. I know this will sound weird . . . but I just had this instinctive trust in her."

"Was she pretty?" asked Rodney.

John wrinkled his brow, making a face at the scientist. "I don't know . . . I guess she was pretty."

"Then that's not weird, at least not for you. Hello, does anyone remember Chaya?"

John sighed. "Are you ever going to get tired of bringing her up?"

Rodney grinned and bounced up and down on the balls of his feet. "No, not anytime soon, but thanks for asking."

John rolled his eyes and continued. "Anyway, I followed her to the chair room and she told me to sit down in the chair, which I did. She did something to the console while I connected with Atlantis. When Atlantis finished showing me what was happening and how to fix it, she was gone. That's when I called Rodney. I needed someone at the panel while I worked in the chair."

Elizabeth shook her head. "Well, you two apparently saved the city with whatever you did in there."

"Again," added Rodney.

Elizabeth smiled a tired smile. "Yes, Rodney, again." She slid a look at Teyla and Ronon, who were grinning.

"Who was the girl?" asked Ronon.

John frowned and tilted his head down once to the side while simultaneously shrugging his shoulders. "I have no idea." He looked over at Rodney, who's eyes widened in a bit of panic.

"What are you looking at me for? I don't know who she was. She could have been another projection from the whales or from Atlantis or she could have been an Ancient. Maybe it was a product of the whales working with Atlantis. Maybe they've had enough contact after the initial event that some of them learned and advanced. We know the whales were involved to some extent because your problems began with their odd behavior. Who she was, however, is something we'll probably never know."

"The important thing is that she helped us save the city. And we're safe now." John looked expectantly at Rodney. "We are safe now, right?"

Rodney nodded and waved his hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, Radek and I have done extensive scans for a variety of things and everything is back to normal. We're safe."

"And John is okay, right Carson?" asked Elizabeth.

Carson nodded. "Aye, yes, he's fine. I was a little concerned at first about the severe nosebleeds, but they seem to have stopped now. Whatever was happening to you with their communication attempts raised your pressure considerably and ruptured some small blood vessels, but everything is back to normal now."

John nodded, looking relieved. "Good, that was just getting annoying."

"And messy," added Rodney.

"So, doc, since I'm okay, when can I get out of here?"

"Not until tomorrow at the earliest. I need to run some tests and I'll want to keep you for observation at least another twenty-four hours. You've been out of it for over three days, colonel, and that comes with consequences."

"Yeah, I know," he said, shifting uncomfortably under the covers as he yawned.

Carson smiled and turned to the others. "All right, time to leave. The colonel is still recovering and he needs rest, so out with you."

Rodney sighed and rolled his eyes. "He just slept for three straight days. How much more resting can he do? I need to talk to him about what happened in the chair. I need to know exactly what he did."

John sunk down a little more into the bed and made a big show of rubbing his eyes and snuggling under the covers.

"Oh, just stop that. You were wide awake a minute ago and everyone knows it. Elizabeth, make him talk to me."

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders and smiled innocently. "Carson's in charge and he says we have to leave. There's nothing I can do. You'll just have to pester . . . uh, talk to John later."

Rodney put his hands on his hips defiantly. "That's right, take his side in all this. Ronon, help me."

Ronon patted John's lower leg as he walked off. "Rest easy, Sheppard." He walked up behind Rodney and placed his hands on the man's shoulders, spinning him around until he faced the infirmary door. "Say goodbye, McKay."

Rodney's shoulders slumped in defeat. "Fine, I'm going, since you seem to have employed Conan as your bouncer. You're not off the hook, though, Sheppard. You'll get out of here eventually and I'll be there waiting." They could still hear him rambling as Ronon and Teyla escorted him down the hall.

"On second thought, doc, I'll be happy to stay as long as you need me to," said John. He hated to admit it, but his body was crying out in exhaustion and the lull of sleep was proving difficult to resist.

Carson smiled. "It's going to take a few days to bounce back, colonel. That took a lot out of you." He looked back at the door and rubbed his chin. "Hmm, Ronon as my bouncer. That has possibilities."

John just smiled as he relaxed into the bed and let the hum of Atlantis sing him to sleep, while hoping he dreamed of just about anything but whales.

THE END


End file.
